The Pyro class was the focus of this update. In addition to three new weapons, the latent Hadouken taunt was upgraded to become the first taunt kill. The update also added the compression blast to the original Flamethrower, an ability that would become a core technique for the class.

Two community-made maps, Fastlane and Turbine, were marked as official and included in the update, along with a link to the Valve Developer Wiki detailing the design and construction of maps in Team Fortress 2. Meet the Sniper was also introduced in a similar manner to Meet the Scout. Additionally, many improvements and fixes were included.

Additions

Weapons

Maps

Update Progress

The Pyro Update was the first update that utilized the technique of slowly revealing content over a period of time before release. A store promotional message, released 13 days before the update, first hinted at the coming changes as well as announcing Meet the Sniper. The page contained a link leading to the concept art for the Axtinguisher.

Upon the release of Meet the Sniper, the Flare Gun was teased in the final frames of the video as the Sniper killed a Pyro wielding the weapon. A further post on the then newly created blog explained the concept behind the Flare Gun. All three weapons were then revealed in their entirety, in a similar fashion to the Gold Rush Update. On the following day the 35 achievements were revealed.

Trivia

The Backburner originally provided a +50 health bonus when equipped. This was later altered due to balance issues.